Pena is scheduled to undergo surgery next week, and doctors have already assured her that her knee will return to full strength following surgery and rehab. Not that it’s any consolation to UFC president Dana White, who was pissed last night:

(…and if you turn the poster over, you’ll see Ben and Seth, butt to butt.)

UFC 169 is poppin’ off this Saturday in Newark, featuring two title fights, a must-win battle between a pair of fading heavyweight legends, and a bunch of other crap that you may or may not care about. Join us as CagePotato founding editor Ben Goldstein and editor emeritus Seth Falvo debate the major storylines surrounding the event, from Urijah Faber‘s resurrected title hopes to our always iron-clad gambling advice (LOL), and much more. Enjoy…

True or false: Even though Urijah Faber has already been beaten once by Renan Barao, he still has a better chance of becoming champion this weekend than Ricardo Lamas does.

BG: True. Barao has proven that he’s a better fighter than Faber, but the Cali Kid is so talented and dangerous that nobody really outclasses him at 135. If Barao has a bad night and Faber has a good night, it’s within the realm of possibility that Faber could find a way to choke him out; their skills aren’t that far apart. And maybe there isn’t a talent-gap whatsoever. The fact that Faber’s five WEC/UFC losses have all come in title fights — and the fact that he’s still undefeated in non-title fights, after a full decade of competition — suggests that perhaps there’s some kind of psychological block that’s preventing the California Kid from firing on all cylinders when a belt’s on the line. (Then again, that’s probably the best reason to pick against him on Saturday.) But in this chaotic sport, anything can happen. No absurd win streak lasts forever, and sometimes the sun shines on an old veteran’s ass, so to speak.

SF: False, and not just because this column would be really boring if we both agreed with each other. No one is denying that Urijah Faber is an outstanding talent, but you pretty much made my point for me when you wrote “if Barao has a bad night and Faber has a good night” in regards to his chances of becoming the bamtamweight champion. Lamas, on the other hand…okay fine, his odds aren’t looking any better. Both men have the same slim chances of walking out of The Prudential Center with their respective division’s title, making “Faber has a better chance” technically wrong, and me technically correct. And everyone knows that technically correct is the best kind of correct.

Let’s say Barao defeats Faber on Saturday. Let’s say that he also never fights Dominick Cruz. Does that make Barao’s title run any less legitimate?

Two judges screwed up the UFC’s plans this past weekend, but it may ultimately be for the best.

When Sal D’Amato and Brian Puccillo decided that Benson Henderson did enough to earn a split decision victory over Josh Thomson in the main event of UFC on FOX 10, the lightweight division had a wrench thrown into it. Had he received the judges’ decision, Thomson was already confirmed by UFC president Dana White as the next title challenger for currently-injured UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.

“Showtime” has stated that he wants to return in July and his timeline would have matched up well with Thomson’s. Not only that, but Thomson had been scheduled to fight Pettis back at UFC on FOX 9 before the titleholder pulled out with an injury. Many thought Thomson got that fight with Pettis more due to timing than anything else, but had he defeated the former champion this past weekend, Thomson would have truly earned his title shot.

But then Henderson had his hand raised. As soon as that happened, the UFC lightweight division had to be rejigged because Henderson has already lost to Pettis twice and isn’t anywhere close to getting a trilogy fight with him. The other top contender, TJ Grant, has been out since last summer with post-concussion symptoms and isn’t even training yet, so he’s out of the picture. Nate Diaz, who has been vocal on Twitter about wanting a title shot, isn’t getting one anytime soon because c’mon. Former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez is still out there, but it’s hard to say he deserves a title shot just because he defeated Diego Sanchez at UFC 166, even if his resume is amongst the absolute finest in the division. There’s also guys like Rafael Dos Anjos, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Donald Cerrone and Jim Miller, but none of them are deserving of a crack at the crown right now.

You’ve probably heard by now of the near meltdown Dana White suffered while hosting a media luncheon the other day. In case you didn’t, MMAWeekly’s Erik Fontanez was on hand and live-tweeted the entire thing. Although we are still waiting on the full audio of the luncheon, a brief video has recently surfaced showing one of White’s more heated moments.

What started off as a typical scrum of sorts with select members of the MMA media quickly turned into an f-bomb filled back-and-forth between White and a reporter (later identified as TJ Simers of the OC Register) who called bullshit on The Baldfather’s claims that the UFC would be bigger than the NFL and was already bigger than the NBA. The Rock could not be reached for comment but offered this rebuttal.

From there it was all downhill. However, White was able to restrain from his usual mix of faux-threats and strawmen arguments for the most part, especially when the topic of boxing — more specifically, White’s new boxing-centric reality show, The Fighters – came up.

Apparently not a fan of boxing, MMA, or the concept of someone punching someone else in general, Simers relentlessly needled White over key issues both sports are currently facing. Issues like “Would you let your kid be a boxer?” and “Fighting is not in our DNA.”

Armed with a thick Long Island accent and a 5-1-1 pro record, Al Iaquinta joined the cast of the first live Ultimate Fighter in 2012. He stormed through the competition, defeating Jon Tuck, Myles Jury, Andy Ogle and Vinc Pichel en route to the finals, where he fell short to Michael Chiesa.

What many thought would be a difficult matchup for him in his next UFC appearance turned out to be his coming out party, as Iaquinta decisively beat on Ryan Couture for three rounds at UFC 164. A follow-up win over Piotr Hallman established him as one of the many lightweight prospects to watch heading into 2014. His wrestling base with heavy hands is not unlike his Serra-Longo teammate Chris Weidman, who Iaquinta looks up to for inspiration in the gym.

At UFC 169, for the third time in six months, Iaquinta will take to the cage. This time he will take on the debuting Kevin Lee. A submission expert by trade, Lee presents some interesting challenge to Iaquinta, whose two professional losses both came by submission.

CagePotato caught up with Iaquinta ahead of his bout at UFC 169 this Saturday to get his thoughts on Lee, The Ultimate Fighter experience, and much more.

CAGEPOTATO.COM: How was your training camp for this fight?

AL IAQUINTA: Training’s been going good, same as usual. I’m here with Ray Longo and Matt Serra and the team, just getting ready. I’m ready to go. I’m chomping at the bit to get in there.

Does the terrible weather we’ve had in the Northeast make things difficult? At 20 degrees below zero, it must be challenging to get up and into the gym.

Yeah, definitely. It makes things a little difficult, but I kind of like it, going through training camp in the snow. It reminds me of wrestling season. If you go out for a run you’re all bundled up and getting through the elements. It kind of makes me feel like I’m in a Rocky movie. I’m thinking of all the things I’m doing to get ready for this fight and if he’s not doing that, it’s a big disadvantage.

When you have these constant camps in succession, three in the past six months, does it make it difficult to improve your skills?

After long discussions with our client Pat Barry over the recent weeks, he has come to the decision that he will be taking an indefinite leave from competing in MMA. The UFC and Zuffa have been very gracious in releasing him from his contract and Pat is very grateful for everything they have done for him and his career.
“Over the past few fights I’ve just had this sinking feeling in my stomach whenever I have stepped into the Octagon and I realize, I DONT WANT TO WRESTLE. Not saying I will never do MMA again, but right now I just want to hit people. MMA and the UFC have been great to me and I will always support the company and the sport. I want to thank all my fans, sponsors and haters for being with me on this journey and I look forward to what future holds.” – HD!

“Pat and I have talked about this for a while now and with recent changes in the landscape of combat sports, he wants to explore some options and try to get back to his roots. He’s going to take a little time to clear his head and then we will explore our options. We will keep you posted on things as they develop.” – Brian Butler

Start praying to whatever deity you see fit, Taters, because it looks like some progress is finally being made in the ongoing war against TRT in MMA. Yesterday, The Association of Ringside Physicians — an “international, non-profit organization dedicated to the health and safety of the boxer and mixed martial arts athlete” — released a statement calling for the end of therapeutic use exemptions for testosterone replacement therapy in combat sports, on the grounds that the treatment is being quote “abused out the asshole” by MMA fighters.

Alright, that quote might have been made up but this one definitely isn’t:

The incidence of hypogonadism requiring the use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in professional athletes is extraordinarily rare. Accordingly, the use of an anabolic steroid such as testosterone in a professional boxer or mixed martial artist is rarely justified.

Steroid use of any type, including unmerited testosterone, significantly increases the safety and health risk to combat sports athletes and their opponents. TRT in a combat sports athlete may also create an unfair advantage contradictory to the integrity of sport. Consequently, the Association of Ring side Physicians supports the general elimination of therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) for testosterone replacement therapy.

There’s a lot of space to cover on that arm, and we’d love to see how you’d fill it. Using Photoshop, MS Paint, or a printer and actual crayons, please draw a new tattoo for Alan onto the image and send the resulting work to BG at bgoldstein@defymedia.com.

A week from today, we’ll pick our three favorites who will win…well, we’re not sure yet. Maybe some CagePotato shirts if we still have some left. Maybe just some shout-outs on Twitter. Maybe nothing. That’s what makes this contest “unofficial.” Take it or leave it. Good luck everybody, and follow Masato Toys on Facebook right here.

Point is, ol’ Andy is prone to some bouts of irregularity (here’s him pretending to be Spiderman in a parking garage, for instance). Not that I can blame him; I’m already a phone call away from the looney bin and I have neither millions of dollars nor the ability to kill 99.9% of the people on this planet with my bare hands. And besides, Silva’s craziness is an x-factor that probably helped him come up with such consistently mind-blowing (more on this later) finishes over the years.

But this…this is the kind of shit that makes me think Anderson just a case of energy drinks away from going on a vehicular rampage across Brazil, if you know what I am saying (via MMAFighting):

Silva has filed a police report against a woman in Brazil for defamation.

According to the chief of police department in Pinhais, Marcelo Magalhaes, the UFC star felt offended when a woman called him “rotten” on Twitter.

“We’re still investigating to get her name, address and phone,” Magalhaes told Globo. “It’s a 40-year-old woman who wrote on the internet, in a social media, several phrases, including ‘Brazil will see the idol and rotten that you are’ [Ed. Note: 'shitty idol' was also used].”

The process is expected to go to court next. The penalty for this type of crime in Brazil is up to six months in jail, or a fine.

According to second-hand accounts, the fight started when Silva — perhaps enraged by a recent tweet — took a swing at Sonnen, who then shot in and took Wandy down. As they scuffled on the floor, a member of Team Wanderlei clocked Sonnen in the head. That last detail was confirmed by Dana himself:

“While they were fighting, one of Wanderlei’s guys sucker punched Chael. It went on for a while.”

“It’s on a reality show; it’s good and it’s bad,” said White. “A fight didn’t need to break out between these two for people to be excited about this fight (after the show), because these two have been at each other’s throats.”

Though Sonnen or Silva haven’t released any public statements about the incident yet, Sonnen recently shot a promo for TUF Brazil 3 where he described the unique experience of shooting a reality show with the Axe Murderer: